By Saint Tim
April 4 2011

It is a few years since I have managed to get to the Rec and it is both one of my favourite and one of my least favourite grounds.  It is a favourite because of the surroundings which is a very pretty city.  It is a least favourite because of the facilities, the fact it normally rains on me when I go and the fact that Bath are normally damned good at their home ground against us.  I got to see this game due to it being broadcast and to be honest I would rather have missed it completely.

Can you pick a MoTM out of the rubbish that was Saints away at Bath?

I wasn’t the only one absent from the Saints at the Rec, also missing were the brother tackle and defend.  It was frustrating to see Bath punch huge holes in the normally solid Saints midfield.  It could have been so different as Saints started brightly and Christian Day almost scored a sneaky try by getting his hand through a ruck and onto the ball.  Unfortunately he needed to roll it forward.

After that it was almost one way traffic and it was also a day when Bananaman had his game of the season.  Everything he touch came off.  He barged through saints at pace and looked like a real player.  How come he cannot do this consistently not can he do it against organised teams.

It is to my disgrace that I walked out of the pub before the end of the game.  I could not take the punishment any more.  I cannot remember if I have ever walked out on a Saints game before.  I don’t think I have and that shows the depth of despair I had watching the team crumble.

The brave 67 souls who managed to pick a Man of the Match have my undying respect and thanks.

So, who caught the eye?

There were three players who did catch the eye.

In third place with 16% was Mr Saintsman! 0h yes it was the ever green Bruce Bruce Bruce Reihana.  I am sure Bruce will be a good servant for us at the start of next season when the young guns are off in his homeland.  When he does finally hang up his boots I for one will really miss him.

In second place with 24% was the all action Sergeant Wilson.  Roger is no doubt peeved at the lack of a call from the emerald isle but we over here in the Shire can only be thankful for their short sightedness.

The winner with 33% was Stephen Myler.  Stephen has had his knockers this season but as ever he just gets on with his game and makes the best of what he has and what is delivered to him.  Stephen will never be the most flashy fly half but he is really steady and never shirks from a tackle.  This win moves Stephen up to three wins for the season and is now joint leader with Roger Wilson and Paul Diggin.  Well done Stephen.

My thanks again to Claire for her wonderful pictures.  Looking at them now I could not believe we had had the ball that much!

Full Result

Previous Winners

Vote History

Who wins?

Leaderboard

Players Used

So far this season we have used 36 different players.  I do notice however that after 23 games we have 2 players who have only missed two starts.  This isn’t really rotation and could be a key reason for the sub standard performances we are now seeing.